Our social calendar these days seems to include lots of outdoor BBQs and bonfires so I usually throw in a couple swedish candles to take along and even a couple extra for gifts for our host and hostess. I spent some time today dropping a tall straight 14" DBH standing dead Sugar Maple and a 20" standing dead Red Pine. Both were straight as telephone poles. I was needing to stock up on swedish candles so I ended up making 10 out of the maple and got 15 out of the pine before the rains came and put the kabosh on outdoor activity for the day. There's still 20' of the pine log laying out there to finish up. I'll use the top of the pine to make 2" thick discs to throw in the wood stove on top of a huge bed of coals to help burn them down quicker. I'm liking this particular way of making them because the light easily and quickly with a piece of fat wood tossed down the hole and they don't smoke much before taking off good. The maple measured around 25% on the moisture meter and the pine was less consistant and got readings of 22% up to 33%. I took one of each to my sisters and both did take off and burn, but I'm sure they will start even quicker when they get dried out a little better. I forgot to get pix of them burning... One of my neices stopped over on her way home and took 4 with her to enjoy in their backyard. They enjoy being out on their back patio a lot.
I have about 20 I made out of white birch to sell. My wife is afraid of liability if some one uses gasoline or something to start and gets hurt. So she actually put her foot down on that. Something she's only done 3 times in the 21 yrs we've been married.
I had originally thought of selling them, but as you mention... lots to think about. So we just take them with us and I usually am the one lighting them, although my B-I-L can't stand anything that doesn't BURST into flame at the touch of the match and heads for the starting fluid, gas, or any other accelerant he can find in his garage... I know there are many others out there that are similar and do NOT read the directions. I've played with these things and made them several different ways trying to settle on the easiest, safest way to light them. Nothing is foolproof and that's why I typically try to control the situation and light them myself, but that isn't always the case. Fire is fire and can be dangerous when taken lightly. For the most part all of our reletives enjoy the candles and they are actually a substitute for a much larger fire that they were going to have anyway. My B-I-L usually has a fire in their fire ring and if I don't show up and light a candle in the fire ring before he gets to it, he'll put 15 splits in there and go get the gas can... He seems to enjoy singed arm hair... As far as selling them, yeh, that could be an issue and you would need to do research on warnings and cautions... A lot to think about and I'm not a lawyer so I avoid thinking too much about that stuff.
Not really familiar with these candles, I have only seen them on here. So my question... people can throw gas on the firewood "we" sell them when used in a firepit. Why worry about these any more than stick wood? I assume there's a special or needed/preferred way to start them safely... Some people tend to learn from experience. Hopefully no one else will be close enough, but if he gets flashed good enough one time maybe he'll learn. If not....
LOL, not my B-I-L. He's been using gas to start fires since I've known him... He laughs and tells stories about the close calls... I was there with him back in the early 70's when they were clearing their property to build a house. HUGE brush pile, windstill day, very humid, about 50*, and he had a nylon windbreaker on... This pile was 15' diameter and about 10' high. He dumped most of a 2 gallon can of gas on that pile while I was walking away, far away... I was watching as he knelt down by the pile and got out his matches. The fumes were just hanging there in and around that pile. As soon as he started sliding the match on the striker, it went up... HUGE fireball. Usain Bolt couldn't have caught him as he came running out of there peeling that smoking nylon jacket off... That was the most perfect mushroom cloud I've ever seen in person. After he figured out he was OK we laughed our arses off. his eyelashes and eyebrows were gone along with all the hair on the back of his hands. This is one of his "go-to" stories now and after hearing his uncle's MANY pyro stories at his 90th birthday party, I see where he gets his fire starting skills from...
Bahahahaha!!! Well, I guess he, you and everyone knows what might eventually happen to him! Some people you just can't reach....
He's got 9 lives... He's been in a few wrecks that most folks would never walk away from, has torched himself a few times, and was shot by a crazy neighbor. He's in his 70's now and still going strong with a huge sense of humor. He's very fun to be around, but there are times when I step back, way back... LOL I think he originated the saying, "hold my beer and watch this"... He's got tons of hilarious stories and I'm pretty sure most of them are true cuz I was there watching from a distance for a bunch of them. A few of them get better every time they get told, but you know how it is... LOL
